The Golden Lotus
by Minsara Kanavu
Summary: The universe is in trouble, and the only one who can save it is a...a teenager? Throw in some ninjas, a cooky timelord, crime fighting children, and much, much more, and what do you get? An unforgettable adventure.
1. The Lotus, The Key, and The Map

Hello ALL! This is my first fanfic, so reviews would be greatly appreciated. The first chapter might seem a bit long, but the rest of the story will make more sense if you read it... SO PLEASE! Don't let me hinder you and bore you and make you leave... I do not own Naruto or any characters of the Naruverse.

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><p>I woke up screaming again. It was getting more and more frequent, and I didn't really understand what was going on, but it happened. When it first began, I waited for a concerned parent to come through the door. To worry about me, fret about me, hold me. To tell me everything was going to be alright. But I've given up on that. I've never really understood why kids whose parents loved them and adored them always complained. Anything's better than what I've got going.<p>

I yawned and stretched my legs out. Blurry details still reel through my mind. A booming voice, fire, people running. I quickly dismiss all of them. Dreams aren't real. I've dreamed for around a decade that my real parents were actually somewhere else, and that for some reason they weren't able to come and get me. That one day, by some miracle, that they'll appear at my front door and sweep me of my feet. They'd be a king and a queen. They used to always be kings and queens, and I was their little princess. But those were dreams. And no matter how much I dream, I can't escape the cold truth of reality.

I got out of my bed and decided that I would go and get a glass of milk. As I went downstairs, I decided two things: That my hair was too long, and that I was going to cut it soon. I had always had a love-hate relationship with my hair. It was all the way down to my knees, and was a deep, dark black. Not like one of those blacks that when you look in the sun it's revealed to be actually a brown; but a black that is as black as a crow's wing. Now that I think of it, we have a lot in common, crows and I. The blackness of our hair/feathers, the sound of our voices, the crooked straightness of our noses. My skin was a deep tan, a deep brown that my grandmother would call "Milk chocolate with a touch of dark mixed in". I was one of those "akward teens", who neither looked right nor talked right. At 15, it seems that I still have a long way to go.

I reach the fridge and open the door. I look inside at the miserable contents: a couple of pieces of wrapped American Cheese, some buttermilk, rice, and a sad little container of yesterday's tofu stir fry. No milk. Looks like I have to go shopping again. I sighed and reached for the container of tofu. Might as well have some reward for the journey I had undertaken. I looked at the clock that hung above the oven. 1 AM. If I didn't go to sleep I wouldn't be able to go to school tomorrow. But what was the point? I'd still have that dream.

I finish my stir fry and went back up to my bedroom. One bed, one desk, one closet. That was all that there was in it. That was all that I needed. I closed my eyes and after some time fell into a deep slumber. It was the first dreamless one I had had in months.

...

Sun was shining in my eyes. I groaned as I forced myself up, and threw my legs over the side of the bed. The alarm clock said it was 6 AM. I had over an hour and half to get ready for school, but all my tiredness had been sucked away from my body. I reached for my glasses that were next to the alarm clock, in front of the picture of my grandmother and I. It was the only picture I had of us together, standing in front of the temple in India that she loved so much. I used to love visiting India, where all my crazy cousins and aunts and uncles lived. But after my grandma died, it had just lost all of it's magic. I haven't been there in three years, and I haven't kept in touch with anybody over there. I know I should, but I just don't care enough.

I stare at the piles of neatly finished homework that lie on my desk. One day I just want to burn all my notebooks and papers, but the Indian in me is just too...Indian to let that happen. I grabbed them and stuffed them into my backpack and took it all downstairs. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, which is another wierd thing only Indian people do. Brush their teeth before breakfast. After doing so, I began on the most difficult task of my day: brushing my hair.

It's okay when you first start, lightly combing over it to get any overhead tangles. But it gets very difficult, not to mention painful, when you start to push the comb deep into the hair, uncovering tangles that you wouldn't think would exist. For the hundredth time of my life, I told myself I was going to cut it. I finally finished combing it after what seemed like an hour, and tied into a signature braid with a red ribbon at the bottom. I then went back upstairs, got dressed, and ate my breakfast. Finally, I went out the door to catch the bus.

You know those days when even you forget your birthday, and someone had to remind you? Well, this was one of them. As soon as I left the house, I nearly tripped over a weird little brown box. On top of it was a manila envelope that had only one letter on it. My name, Rini, in very fancy writing. I decided to look at it right then, and went back inside with it.

I opened the envelope first. Inside was a plain, white paper that had a gold embroidery at the edges, and a key with a necklace poked through it. I took out the paper and unfolded it. The contents went something like this: _My Love, Happy Birthday_. That was it. Now, this was a mind boggling experience for the girl who had never even been asked on a date before, and even though she seemed like she didn't care about, she secretly wanted some handsome boy to come up to her and say "I love you." My Love? Just reading those words made my heart jump a little. And the fact that it said happy birthday. No one would remember my birthday if it were not for VisageLivre, the new social networking craze that has got everyone hooked. But no one would check that at 7:30 in the morning, or even earlier depending on who and when delivered this. I set the letter down and decided to take a closer examination at the key. It looked like one of the oldest keys in the world, like the one from the first book of Harry Potter. The one he had to catch on the broom as one of the exams to get to the sorcerer's stone? Yeah, that one. It had delicate symbols crafted into it's side, but they were hard to make out with all the rust covering it. It was supposed to be worn like a necklace, from the thin chain that went into a small hole that was poked at its top. I decided to put it on for the heck of it. Then, I turned my attention to the package.

It was a plain package, the wrapping held by a dark brown drawstring that was tied in a double knot at the top. After some difficulty, I managed to get the drawstring off, and inside was a small white box. When I touched the small white box, all the hairs on my body stood up on their end, as if a freezing wind had just passed by. Inside the box were the weirdest things ever: a large piece of empty white paper and a golden lotus attached to a headband. When I say "Golden Lotus" , I don't mean a lotus with golden petals; I mean a lotus made out of pure gold. Or what looked to be pure gold. It was a closed lotus, not an open like the ones you'd find on blossoming lily pads. But it was still beautiful. I picked up the piece of paper to examine it. Completely plain. How bizarre. Maybe it was supposed to be drawn on? Or maybe there was invisible ink on it? These were the things that were going through my head as I heard the bus pass my house and turn at the intersection.

...

"How did you get to school?"

"I walked."

"Wow, you're dedicated."

I sighed as I looked down at my paper bag lunch. It contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, and a cookie. I wasn't feeling to good. I had my hand on my forehead, trying to keep the massive migraine I had in check. My best friend, Elle, was sitting across from me at the lunch table. Her dainty hands picked at the pizza she had for lunch, and her nose scrunched up as she saw how much grease was on it.

"This is so disgusting! How can they serve this to High Schoolers? I can already imagine one of my arteries clogging up! Don't you think, Rini? Rini? Oh my god! Rini!"

That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

When I woke up, I wasn't in school anymore. I don't think I was in America, North America, or even Earth anymore. Everything was pitch black, but a weird black. Like the color of the night sky. And the weirdest thing, there were little dots of light, that looked just like stars, surrounding me. And if that were not bizarre enough, in a flash of light, a lady stood in front of me. She wore an elegant white dress that had a black sash tied around the waist. Her skin was the color of milk with the tiniest bit of cocoa mixed in. She had dirty blonde hair and eyes that were purple. Yes, purple. I'm starting to think I'm dead.

"W-who are you?" I manage to stammer out.

"My name is Aphena. I am a member of The Council." She said, her lips not moving as she said them.

"Council? Wha? Am I… Am I dead or something? I mean, I don't….I don't understand….."

"Shhhhh." She silenced me. "All will be explained soon enough. But I must tell you now, before it is too late, do not go home tonight. Instead, go to the abandoned factory near the pier. Many of the questions you ask may be answered."

She started moving farther and farther away from me. I tried to run to keep up with her, but to no prevail. The tiny lights started to surround me, and in a flash, I woke up in the Emergency Room. A worried Elle and some other people were staring at me.

"Oh my god! Rini! You're awake! You just passed out…and I….I…" Elle was cut short by a bout of crying. A doctor consolidated her by putting his arm around her shoulder, and another one got her some tissues.

"What time is it?" I asked, barely mumbling out my question.

"Around 9 PM. You were out for quite some time young lady." A nearby nurse replied.

I had been passed out for around nine hours? It sure didn't feel like nine hours when I was talking to that lady, if it ever really happened. I tried to sit up, but the nurse immediately pushed me down.

"No, No." She said in a motherly voice. "You're not ready for that yet. We think you might have gotten a mild concussion when you hit your head on the floor. Now, we have to take an MRI to confirm that and then we can start with some…."

Her voice trailed off, and then she let out an ear piercing shriek. I looked behind me, and noticed that the doctor that was consolidating Elle was not there anymore. Instead , there was an ugly…thing. Monster. Creature. Call it what you may, but it was definitely not human, or animal, or even plant. It resembled something from a horror movie. It was kind of smoky, and had deep red eyes. Eyes that looked hungry. It was holding a knocked out Elle with it's claws. It looked like it was going to come for me next.

I should have played hero. I should have tried to rescue Elle. I should have risked my life for the others. But I didn't instead, I did the only thing that came to mind. I ran.

...

It was around 11 PM when I reached the abandoned factory. The hospital was only around half a mile away from it, but that was not the problem. The problem was that those… _things_ were everywhere. I didn't know what they were, but they had different sizes and shapes, some were fat, some were skinny, just like normal people. Except those things weren't people, and they definitely weren't normal. By the time I managed to get to the factory, I had had to hide in around ten trash cans, and sneak into three people's houses. Now, I smelled like death and felt even worse than death.

_Why did I come here? That conversation was probably a stupid dream. But I guess it doesn't matter. Those things are everywhere anyways._

"Those things are called 'Tenebrae'."

I turn around, startled. It was that woman again, except now her brow was creased with worry, and her youthful face seemed decades older. Her purple eyes that were dancing with joy when I first met her had now become dark and sullen. She looked at me with a frown.

"It's you! You! It wasn't a dream! I mean, this can't be a dream, can it? Oh my… Wow. I don't know what to say." I say, not hiding my disbelief.

"You can begin with telling me how you got that key and lotus." She said, her expression still not amused.

"Uh… well you see… They were in a package addressed to me this morning. I didn't steal them or anything, I swear! I just… I don't know."

"What is wrong with your voice?" She asked, her face suddenly becoming a bit more bright.

"Huh?"

"You're voice. Why do you stammer and put so many incomplete sentences together? Are you not capable of even doing that?" I felt offended. And the last thing you want to do is make an Indian person who had gone through sleep deprivation and seen her friend being captured by a tene-whatever was to make her feel offended.

"What. The. Hell! I come here, going through all that trouble to come here, and you say I'm not capable? Well, you know what, you should look in the mirror, cause it seems you're not capable of putting on botax right, cause you look like you just aged a million years or something. And you know another thing? You…"

She laughed. It was a dainty laugh, the kind flirting princess would use to court the handsome prince. But for some reason, it seemed so right for her. And all of a sudden, she looked just as young before, her youth completely restored.

"You amuse me, young one. I have never met one such as you. Tell me, what is your name?"

"My name's Rini. What's going on? What are those things?" I asked in a hurry, pleased the conversation was finally getting somewhere.

"As I said before, my name is Aphena. I am a member of The Council, the highest power in all the universes in keeping the balance between them. Tell me, Little Rini, have you heard of the theory that there are parallel universes?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've even thought about it once or twice, but what does that have to do with anything?" I said, not catching on where this conversation was going.

"What if I were to tell that it is completely true, and that there are various universes? That the very balance of things are being disrupted because of these creatures. You see, not only in your own, but in many have the Tenebrae shown. The Council and I have used to be able to keep them in check, but now, it is hard to keep up with both them and not letting rifts open in space and time. Please. I am begging you. We need your help."

I didn't know what to say. Partly because I still didn't know what was going on, but mostly because I was never in the position where an other worldly being had come to me for help before.

"These… Tenebrae… how are they created? Do they take over bodies, or do they just kill people?"

"Neither, I am afraid. They_ are_ the people. When the darkness of the heart overcomes that of the light, they become the creature, with no conscience, no emotions, no love. They become empty shells that have only one sole purpose: to serve their leader."

"Leader?"

"Yes. Her name is Aeterna. She is not only evil, but the incarnation of it in a humanly form. It is said she planted the seed of evil in the minds of the first beings, and ever since then, she has not stopped."

"So, she's the one who's turning people into these things?"

"Yes, essentially. It is a very complicated process, but I do not have time to explain much. "

"So what do you want me to do about all of this?" I asked, still uncertain on how I fit into this.

"You see, thousands of years ago, a similar predicament occurred. Aeterna seemed unstoppable, until her twin sister, Lucence, used the Key of Light to stop her. She sealed Aeterna away in a time seal, never to truly live, but never to die either. Recently, however, Aeterna escaped, and you have seen the results. But before Aeterna was sealed, she cast a spell on Lucence, capturing her into a stain glass window and breaking her."

"Oh no! Did she die?"

"Physically, yes. But her soul is still within those pieces. We thought that Aeterna was sealed, that we could just not look for the pieces, but we were wrong. And now we are ill-prepared for these events. Unfortunately, you're universe has the worst case for now. But, if you gather all the pieces of the glass window and resurrect Lucence, there may be a chance of saving all these people. Of saving your friend."

When I heard that last sentence, I nearly had a mental breakdown. Oh Elle. The girl who had been with me throughout the pain, the laughter, the craziness. The girl scout, the hopeless romantic, the one who always believed. The girl who had helped me through my parents. And how do I repay her? By running.

"What do I do?" I asked, sounding more determined than I actually was.

"The Key that you hang around your neck is know as a Transport Key. Every member of the council has one, but this is the first that one outside get hold of it. It allows you to travel through the dimensions through ease. That blank sheet of paper is supposedly a map of where the scattered pieces are located. It will reveal itself once you utter the word "_aperio_". The Golden Lotus is an indicator for when the Tenebrae are nearby, as it will open itself and start intermittently flashing light. The closer you get, the less intervals there are between the lights, until finally, it will grow completely once you encounter one. These are the only tools that I can give you, and I am very sorry for that."

My mind was reeling. Me? Saving not only my, but other universes? I couldn't. I really just couldn't. But Elle….

"Ok. I'll do it."

Aphena smiled. She pulled out the lotus and piece of paper from inside her dress, and handed them to me. She took out a key that was similar to the one I was wearing, but looking much nearer, and pressed it on the ground. Immediately, a large light blue gash appeared, with

"You should leave now. You don't have a minute to lose. People are counting on you."

"Wait! But what if something attacks me! I don't know any karate, or judo, or anything like that! I'm just normal!"

"You're key will have a self defense mechanism, and it will reveal itself to you in a time of need."

"But what if I need to talk to you?" I shouted, my voice barely being heard beyond the steady hum of the vortex that was right in front of me.

"I'll always be here for you." She said, giving a faint smile. "Now, jump!"

I looked down. It looked never ending and terrifying. _Why am I doing this again?_ And then, an image of Elle flashed through my mind. I held my breath, closed my eyes, and jumped into the abyss below.

...

"Is she dead?"

"Of course not, you idiot! She's still breathing!"

"M-m-maybe she needs water?"

"Mmph." I mumbled

Suddenly, everything became quiet.

"She said something! She _is_ alive!"

"That's what I've been telling you all along."

I stirred, barely listening to the argument. I tried opening my eyes, but they felt glued shut. Finally, with a lot of trouble, I managed to pry them open. Only to be found being stared at by a pink haired girl , a blonde hair boy with a loud voice, and a girl with clear colored eyes that looked like she was going to pass out. _This is going to be a long day._

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><p>Thanks for reading! It'll get much more interesting, I promise. On that note, what other universes (TV shows, animes, cartoons, etc) would you like Rini to travel to? What pairings would you like to get together? I'm always open for ideas! So, Review. Please.<p> 


	2. Why Was I So Stupid?

Here's chapter 2! I tried to make it more "action packed", but I'm not a very action-y person =.='. I tried my best, so here's the fruits of my effort! I do not own Naruto or any characters of the Naruvers!

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><p>"SHE'S AWAKE!"<p>

"Shut up! We all know that! Why are you such an idiot all the time?"

I tried to push aside the argument, since it was only contributing to my headache. After I was found by those three people, who promptly introduced themselves as "Uzumaki Naruto", "Haruno Sakura", and "Hyuuga Hinata", they took me to their nearby camp. Apparently they were on a mission to steal back a rare diamond from a thief or something, and were getting water from a lake when I fell on top of Naruto. They don't know how I got there, and truthfully, I wasn't completely sure either.

"Um… W-w-w-would you like something to eat? I mean, we have a lot of supplies." Hinata asked me tentatively.

I stared at her for a second. She seemed so frail, like if I said something even only borderline mean, she would collapse into hysteria. She had clear, white eyes, but was apparently not blind. She had a very soft voice, and long, black-blue flowing hair. She looked at me with so much concern that it was surprising that this was the first time we had met.

"Some water would be great, thanks" I said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

The other two stopped their arguing and stared at me. Even Hinata looked a bit perplexed.

"Where're you from?" Naruto asked, his face filled with confusion.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"He asked, where are you from?" Sakura answered, her face suddenly becoming very serious. "You're accent… it doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before. It's so strange….."

"Accent? _I_ have an accent?" I asked, trying to make sense of it all. And then it hit me, I was speaking Japanese.

_Japanese? I think I'm still learning how to speak English, and now, I'm speaking JAPANESE? Ok Rini. Don't freak out. Act cool. Act cool. __Who cares if these kids your age are trained mercenaries capable of assassinating a person and leaving no evidence behind? Just act natural, and while they're asleep, make a run for it! Now, say something, dammit!_

"Er, nice weather we're having, huh?"

_You just blew it._

If I had blinked, I wouldn't have noticed the three kunai come pointblank range, and I wouldn't have noticed how suddenly, three other Narutos appeared behind the original one, all holding weaponry themselves.

"What are you? A spy for another country? Or a mercenary, hired to take out important lives?" Sakura hissed out, anger brimming in her voice.

I didn't know how to respond, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. I guess that was the smart, because Sakura went on, talking about something about the 'Land of Fire' and 'Hokage' and some other crap. Truthfully, I zoned out, because I didn't understand what was going on. Suddenly, all of Naruto's clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, and all three of them seemed to retreat in front of me.

"What the hell's going on with that flower?" Naruto asked, pointing at the lotus that I was wearing on my hair.

It was glowing. Well, more like pulsing, but it was completely open, and it was glowing. _What did Aphena said that meant again? The key was for transporting and apparently for "Defensive measures", the map was for locating pieces of glass, and the lotus was supposed to glow when…._

...

That was all I remember before a horde of Tenebrae smashed through the tent, tearing up everything in their path.

"So, you're from another WORLD? Like an alien or something? That's so cool! Like, do you have alien powers or something? Or do you fly or have a flying saucer or …OW!" Naruto was silenced by his pink haired friend hitting him.

"I'm still trying to heal you! So stay still!" She said, this weird green energy coming from her hands.

"W-w-we're really sorry we attacked you." Hinata stuttered out, apparently so embarrassed she couldn't hold eye contact.

"It's alright. I mean, I did kind of bring a gang of evil monsters that want to kill me to your tent. So, even?" I said, forcing myself to smile.

Hinata looked at me and gave me a small grin. "Even."

I looked at Naruto, and felt horrible for the deep gash on his leg. He noticed me looking, and gave me huge grin.

"It's alright! I've gotten a lot of worse wounds! Besides, Sakura-chan is just about the best medical ninja in the whole wide world and- OW!"

"I SAID SHUT UP WHILE I HEAL YOU!" Sakura said, and Naruto became instantly silent. She looked like she was healing her patient more than helping him, but who was I to talk? I didn't even understand anything yet. For all I know, this could be another messed up dream.

...

_The Tenebrae crashed through the tent, destroying everything in the path. The only thing I could do was stare wide-eyed, not fully being able to comprehend._

"_What the hell are those things!" Shouted Naruto, and suddenly, around a hundred- no- two hundred of him appeared. _

"_Come on!" Sakura screamed, as she grabbed my hand and pulled me away. _

_My legs felt numb, but I ran. It seemed running was the only thing that I was good at. Then I remembered something. The key had a defense mechanism. Aphena said it would reveal itself when I really needed it. I really needed that defense mechanism now. I pulled away from Sakura and started running towards the large mass of Tenebrae. There might've been hundreds of Narutos, but there were thousands of them. _

"_Are you crazy? Come back here!" Sakura shouted after me._

_Yes. I am crazy. Just about as crazy as this whole thing. _

"_Naruto!" I shouted at the top of my lungs._

_He looked back and his eyes widened with surprised. In front of him, all of his clones were popping out of existence left and right as they were being pummeled by the Tenebrae._

"_What are you doing here? Go away, you'll just get yourself killed!"_

"_I'm going to help you, no matter what." I said._

_I pulled out my key. "Please. I know you're an inanimate object, but I really need you. I know I must sound crazy and all but please! People are in danger and I…"_

_The key started glowing, and floating in front of me. Then, in a huge flash of light, it became huge. Like a good 5 inches larger than my 5'3" figure. Huh. Maybe I accidentally had LSD or shrooms or something? Cause this was __not__ normal._

"_How did you do that?" Naruto asked._

"_I don't know…but I'm kinda glad it happened. Like, really glad." I said while I attempted to lift the key up. It was light, almost as light as a feather. I picked it up with relative ease._

"_Now what?" Naruto asked, his eyes not leaving the large key._

"_I don't know- WOAH!" The key spurted out a large ray of yellow light, and it hit one of the Tenebrae. The thing collapsed to the ground, and feebly tried to move, but to no prevail. Finally, the body lay limp and still. The others, looking at the one who had fallen and slowly began to retreat themselves, pulling into the nearby forest. Finally, the last one disappeared into the dense underbrush. _

"_Wow! That was so cool! But what were those things and why did they attack us?"_

"_Well it's because- You're hurt!" I said, looking down at his leg._

"_Oh, yeah. But seriously, you were awesome out there. Where did you get that key? I really want one of those!" _

"_Let's go get Hinata and Sakura. I have some explaining to do."_

_..._

"…and then Aphena gave me everything and I jumped. Then I guess I landed here." I said, finishing up my story.

They all stared wide-eyed at me. I can understand that it took time to digest the information, it took me a long time too. I decided to quietly drink from my cup of water while they tried to comprehend what was going on.

"So… you need to find these pieces of glass in order to defeat all these things?" Sakura asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Basically. Speaking of which, this map technically is supposed to tell me where the glass is located." I said, pulling out the blank sheet of paper.

"How can that tell you anything? It's completely blank!" Naruto said, grabbing the map from me and turning it into all possible direction and sides.

"Don't do that!" I cried, snatching it back. "It's only supposed to show itself when I say a word. It's…It's…"

I racked my brain, trying to remember the word, but nothing came to me.

"It's what?" Hinata asked inquisitively.

"Ummm. It starts with an 'a' I think."

All three of them gave a collective groan.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T REMEMBER? THE WHOLE WORLD IS IN STAKE OF BEING CONTROLLED BY THOSE THINGS, AND YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE ONE STUPID WORD THAT CAN HELP US?"Naruto said, going onto a long rant.

"Well, shouting about it won't help us now. We've got to figure that word out in the shortest possible time. I would have suggested we go look in the archives of a village, but we're miles away from any, so let's make do with our resources." Sakura said, pulling out an ancient looking book from her backpack.

"I have a book too. I don't know how useful it will be, but I guess it's better than nothing." Hinata said, also pulling out a slightly newer book from her backpack.

"What about you, Naruto?" Sakura asked the blond.

"Ummm…I have books…but I don't know if they'd be suited for this situation…" Naruto stammered, a little blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Anything's better than nothing." Sakura said, reaching towards Naruto's backpacks. She turned it upside down and dumped all of it's contents. The only "books" I saw were porn magazines. I've never seen anyone be punched so far into the distance before.

Sakura's book turned out to be interesting, but useless. It told about all the major organs of the human body, diseases and how to treat them, and even had a very random recipe on how to make chocolate that was also good for the teeth. Unfortunately, there was nothing on trying to magically make a map appear on a blank sheet of paper. Hinata's, however, proved to be more useful.

"_Legends of the Ninja World_. My mother gave it to me as a birthday present as a child." She said, handing it to me.

I've got to admit, ninjas probably have one of the most imaginative minds I have seen. If "imaginative" meant violent and stone cold torturous.

"I remember that one!" Sakura said, pointing to one of the stories. "That's the one where the guy went and stole money from the rich land merchant and then slit his throat!"

"And that one!" Naruto said, pointing to another story. " That's about the girl who lured men into her cave and then ate them, right?"

And they would just continue on doing this for around an hour. Man, this was a long book, and it made me think. What kind of stories did these people grow up with? Then, it caught my eye.

"This one!" I shouted.

The others looked up, startled by my loud voice, since I was mostly quiet during this time. The story I pointed to read "Hanashima and the Star Piece".

"That's probably one of the most told stories ever!" Naruto said.

"What's it about?" I asked.

"Well, a poor fisher named Hanashima had just lost his wife, and went to kill himself by jumping off of Yama, the tallest mountain in the world. Just as he was about to, he saw a beautiful shooting star. It seemed as if the star was getting closer and closer, and finally, it crashed into the ground beneath the mountain. Hanashima thought this as a sign from the heavens that he should not die, and went and gathered the star piece, and ever since then, it is said to be kept in his house in the present day Land of Sound." Hinata said.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Sakura asked.

"Read what the description of the star piece up close is." I said.

Sakura turned to the book. "The star piece glowed brilliantly, and had a wide variety of colors. Touching it Hanashima would have sworn it was a piece of….stained…glass." Sakura stopped, her eyes widening with realization.

"It might not be true, but it sure is a good place to start." I said. "How do we go to this 'Land of Sound' place, anyways? Like, can we catch a train or something?" "What's a…train?" Hinata asked.

"No trains? Fine, how about a car, or bus, or even a horse drawn buggy?"

I was met with more blank stares.

"You guys don't have any modes of transportation? How do you get anywhere?"

"Walking, of course." Hinata replied.

"…Ok. Let's walk. How far is it?"

"Around a day's trek. But that's only if we don't get spotted by any enemies, in which the risk is high. I suggest we take a longer but safer route around the borders so we don't get caught. There's also a denser forest, and that will make sleuthing much easier." Sakura said, pulling a map out of her backpack. Everyone else nodded, so I decided to nod too.

...

"Are we there yet?" Naruto whined for the umpteenth time. I didn't blame him. I wanted to whine too, but my brain was barely functioning from lack of sleep to be able to string any words into a proper sentence. I've got to hand it to these guys. I thought my life was rough because of all the homework I got, but man, I probably couldn't spend one week in the lives of these people. Constant fear and suspicion. Carrying weapons around everywhere. And yet, they trusted each other more than anyone else I have ever met. Sometimes, I find myself envying them.

"Yes." Sakura said, putting her finger to her lips, signaling us to be silent.

I felt so tired, yet something nudged at my conscience. Something important, something I should know…

"I remember!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"Sorry." I said, lowering my voice to a low whisper. "I remember the word! It's 'aperio'!"

On that note, the piece of paper in my pocket slipped out and began unfolding itself. Lines and dots were made in all directions. Finally, one golden dot could be seen, to what I assumed to was the piece of glass, and another blinking red dot somewhat near it, which I assume to be me.

"Man. Things keep getting weirder and weirder with you." Naruto said, scratching his hair.

Sakura stared at the map intently. "Ok, it looks like it's in… Otagakure."

Everyone gasped at this.

"Ok. I have no idea what's going on, but I'll take a gander. This "Otagakure" is a place filled with a lot ninjas and bad people, and just the name is tabooed in the ninja world?" I said.

"Not exactly." Hinata said, shaking her head.

"The village was founded by a man named Orochimaru. He's dead, or at least thought to be dead, but lots of his ninja cronies are still there, and I'm sure many traps will be set around the village. Not many inhabitants are left there, and I've heard it looked like death." Sakura said.

"So, how are we gonna get in?" I asked.

The three of them smiled at each other, and made a weird sign with their hands. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, they all transformed. Yes, transformed. _Can I wake up now?_

The one in the middle smiled. "We'll take you as a prisoner, and infiltrate the village. Then we'll create a large distraction while you look for that piece of glass."

The one nearest to me picked me up, and told me to act unconscious. I'll tell you, pretending to be unconscious is actually a lot harder than it looks. Hours seemed to pass as we made our slow journey across the land. Finally, we stopped. I heard people coming in front, but didn't dare open my eyes.

"Who are you?" Someone asked

"Otagakure ninjas, of course. We found this girl lurking around, and we wanted to turn her in."

There was silence. I prayed weren't caught. Finally, one person let out a loud huff and said "Go in."

"We're in." One of them whispered to me. "We'll take you to the center, and then create a loud ruckus. Sneak away when nobody is looking."

I tried to make the smallest nod possible in order to ensure nobody would notice. We kept walking for a while, until I heard a distinctively Naruto-like voice yell "NOW!", and whoever was holding me dropped me. I looked up to see all of them back to their original selves, and in an attack stance. That's when I noticed them. People, no, _ninjas_, were coming from everywhere. From rooftops, from behind doors, from shadows, even from the ground itself.

"Go now!" Sakura screamed, as she lunged towards one of them, her hands balled up into a fist with the distinctive green energy glowing from it. Except now, it wasn't exactly for healing.

I decided not to stay to find out what would happen to that poor man as I heard a sickening crunch when Sakura's hand impacted him. I looked to see how Hinata was doing, and her eyes were… _bulging._ Well, not her eyes. But the veins around her eyes. And her eyes sort of got pupil like things in the middle. It was truly a terrifying, yet awesome, sight, and if I were not on a mission at them moment, I would've just stared at them for a long time. But I didn't have that time to waste.

I crawled away from the scene, hoping not to be seen. By some stroke of luck, I wasn't. I somehow made it to a nearby tea shop, and rushed inside. I looked back outside and started backing away slowly. That is, until I backed into something.

"_Oof!"_ It cried, and started crying. _Wait a minute, start crying?_

I looked back, and saw I had hit a little child, only two at most. "I'm so sorr-"

There were people. Sakura told me there were only ninjas, but there were also people. Well, a child, but where there was a child, there must have been somebody taking care of the child, right? A couple of seconds later, my thoughts were confirmed.

"Please! Don't hurt him! He's only a child!" A lady with dark brown hair came running in, wrapping her arms protectively over the kid.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt anyone. I'm just looking for something. Can you help me find it?"

Slowly, other people started surfacing. All looking tired, scared, and having dirt all over their clothes. They had dark rings under their eyes, and they seemed untrusting.

"Please! I heard about the legend of the Star Piece, and I need to find it! Help me, please." I begged.

The people murmured amongst themselves, and finally an old woman emerged from the crowd. Her hair was up in a white bun , and shw used a walking stick.

"Why should we trust you? And what do you want with that old legend anyways?"

"You won't believe me, but it's all true. Well, mostly, anyways. The star piece, I need to find it. If not for myself, do it for your children, and their children. I don't have time to explain, but my map tells me it's in this village, but gives no more detail. I need you." I said.

The lady stood rigid, and then sighed. "Follow me", she said, leading me to the back of the tea shop, where the entrance to what looked like an underground tunnel. "Go in. What you seek should be there."

"Thank you. You won't regret this." I said, and started down the steps.

"One more thing. Didn't anyone tell you that no civilians inhabited this city anymore?" Said the old lady, giving a sinister cackle. Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, she transformed into a ninja.

"What? NO!" I said trying to climb back up the stairs, but for some reason, my feet had sunk into stone. I tried moving, but to no prevail.

The old lady-ninja smiled and said "Good luck, foolish one", before making some sort of sign with his hands and closing the entrance to the tunnel. I started crying. _Why was I so stupid? I shouldn't have jumped! I shouldn't be here!_ These mental messages went on for around 6 minutes in total darkness. Then, a faint glow appeared. My lotus was glowing, and it was rapidly increasing speed. That only meant…

With my feet sunk into solid concrete, and with my eyes full of tears, I came face to face with around a million Tenebrae, their eyes looking full of hunger, their mouths open, revealing their sharp teeth. _Why was I so stupid, _I told myself for the millionth time that day.

* * *

><p>Please Review. Please. It's the only way I can improve as a writer, and besides, I would like to know you guys's opinions on couples and crap like that. So please. Or else I'll send a clown after you.<p> 


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